Eternal Reunion
by Realms of Destiny
Summary: Cloud has Alzheimer's and he's dying...Cloti and Clerith.


Vincent treaded into the room after the nurse, the nauseating and sickly sweet smell of the hospitals filling his nostrils. Sunlight poured in through the window, reflecting off the medical equipment. His eyes followed the bland yellow walls to a frail figure lying on the bed.

To think that the dying man on the bed was a hero, a saint and a failure all in one, was slightly incredulous. The nurse pulled a chair for Vincent. He sat down, scrutinising the mass of wrinkles on the older man's face. His skin reminded Vincent of a snowy mountain, covered with deep trenches.

"Does he remember?" Vincent turned to the nurse who was changing the patient's bed sheets. The old man let out a feeble moan and moved over on his side.

"His Alzheimer's has gotten to a very high stage. For a man only in his fifties...It's tragic," the nurse replied, her voice stained with sympathy.

Vincent knew this time would eventually, he just didn't think it would be this soon. He envied this man for tasting the mortality of life, something he was never gifted.

"How did this happen?" he mused.

"I think the Jenova cells inside his body triggered a mutation in the brain which led to the permanent destruction of his nerve cells. The amyloid protein is the protein in question here. It was possible that this genetic mutation caused an over abundance of this protein and -"

"I don't want to know about _that_," Vincent interrupted. The words left an aching sensation on his temples. Why were doctors were so intelligent and yet lacked tact? He waved a hand at the nurse, motioning that she should leave.

The nurse blushed and placed freshly ironed bed sheets over the patient, checked his heart-rate on the ECG and left the room, her heels clicking against the tiled floor down the hallway.

Only silence remained. Vincent folded his arms across his chest, his lower face hidden beneath his collar.

"So this is what it comes to, Cloud?"

A light snore was his answer. Vincent sighed and peered out of the window. His conversations with Cloud Strife were always short but this was uncomfortable due to Cloud not being aware of his surroundings.

"You know, I phoned Tifa and she said she'll come here with Reno."

Vincent stared at his claw, examining his metal fingers. He recalled Cloud and Tifa's marriage many years ago. They always had issues but they were resolved instantly until about ten years after their vows, they broke up. Tifa found solace with Reno but Cloud was never one to move on easily. He had a lover later whose name slipped from Vincent's mind but she left him sooner than the others had expected. Cloud was just a broken man with laden shoulders, carrying needless sins.

Vincent blinked to fall out of his thoughts only to recognise two large blue eyes staring at him. He remained unflinching as Cloud's cobalt eyes gazed into his blood red ones. The warrior's breathing grew stertorous, the mouth opened, the eyes dull and hard at once.

Vincent shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He never recalled being scared in his life after he lost Lucrecia but this moment caused his heart to beat rapidly.

An eerie and foreboding air clung to the atmosphere.

"Cloud? Do you recognise me?" Vincent asked, hoping in some way to break this silence, to distract himself away from this foreboding atmosphere.

Cloud remained frozen in his stare, as if he was stuck somewhere between the past and eternity. Vincent checked the ECG. It illustrated a normal heart-beat.

The two remained staring at each other, time losing pace between them, until Vincent drifted to a dreamless sleep.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"_Hello?"_

I keep hearing this voice...Telling me to wake up. I'm walking into a broken church where the light of the sun cascades down a hole in the roof. It spills over lilies whiter then snow.

"_Hello?"_

The voice keeps calling me, but the source of the voice is what I'm searching for. It's not here in the church but I can hear it in every breath of the wind, in every beat of my heart and in every droplet of sunshine and I get...warmth growing inside me.

When the warmth soothes my aching joints, I see somebody tending the flowers but I can't see who it is.

"Who are you?" I ask. A pair of eyes that would put emeralds to shame; stare through me. Those eyes...They're so familiar.

"_Why did you come?"_ she asks; her ethereal voice present in every atom.

"I thought I could meet you here..." I say, ghostly words forming on my tongue but when I take a step towards her; she disappears with the receding sunlight right before my eyes.

I reach out to take her hand but all that's left is the scent of lavender and jojoba.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

A boy in his late teens sped into the room.

"Dad?" he whimpered. Vincent turned from his chair to face the raven haired Zack Strife. The boy was wearing an earring he hadn't seen before.

To others, Zack Strife was a trouble-maker. He was a boy out of control because of the lack of fatherly discipline. He had never accepted Reno's hand of friendship either. Instead, Zack stayed with Denzel and Marlene, even though they were now married in a one bed apartment and only visiting Tifa occasionally.

To Vincent, Zack was the next key figure for the Book of Fate the Planet had written out for them. There was another Zack before him and Vincent presumed that there would be a Cloud after him. He would be alive to assist Zack Strife in preparation to protect the Planet and he would be there to celebrate the birth of a new Cloud after.

The boy ran to his father's bedside, taking his hand and bawling with genuine tears. He had his mother's eyes but his father's stubborn lips, hollow cheeks and spiky hair.

"Of all times, you consider a family reunion now?"Vincent muttered, leaning back into his chair and folding his arms across his chest.

Zack spun to face him. His teary brown eyes flashed with ire.

"I didn't expect _this_ to happen!"His voice shook before he resumed his tears. Vincent handed him a tissue. Zack took it gratefully and blew his nose. He sat on the edge of the bed, running a hand through his father's greying hair whose face was peaceful with sleep.

"So was it only you who came?" he asked after a long moment of silence. Vincent rocked on his chair. The creaking sounds interested him all of a sudden.

"Nanaki and Cait Sith came to visit once. Before me there was Cid and Shera."

"Oh..." Zack kept his gaze at the floor, "And Mom?"

"She'll be coming soon." Vincent saw the boy repress a smile.

"Hey Vincent," a voice called from the door. Vincent turned to greet Denzel and Marlene entering the hospital room.

Denzel inhaled a sharp breath at the sight of Cloud. He stumbled to the bedside, grabbing Cloud's hand and retaining tears at the edge of his vision. Marlene placed a small hand on his shoulder.

"He looks so weak," she whispered. Zack nodded in response, his face stricken with sorrow.

"Does he recognise anyone?" Denzel asked, tightening his fingers around Cloud's hand

Vincent recalled the unusual moment where he exchanged looks with Cloud, looks that conveyed a doleful story.

"No," he said.

Marlene draped her arms around the trembling Denzel.

"He'll be okay soon! I'm sure of it," she reassured.

Zack's lips curved into a grimace. Muttering something about needing fresh air, he stretched his arms towards the ceiling and left, Marlene and Denzel staring as he did.

An uncomfortable stillness surrounded the visitors.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Vincent spoke out.

"I'm sure Tifa will know how to help Zack to cope," Marlene replied.

"I wasn't talking about Zack."

Vincent didn't speak after that.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"_Why did you come?"_

I open my eyes slowly and find myself lying in a bed of white and golden lilies. They stretch as far as my vision could see. The sky above is white and radiant.

I sit up, the feeling of youth flowing in my veins. This feeling...I've felt it before.

I glance at my hands and remember a sword. The sword plunges into my chest but I pull it back out. Blood gushes out, seeping down my clothes and spilling over the floor.

I gasp suddenly, my senses returning to the flower fields. My eyes linger on a shadow standing in the horizon.

I take a step towards the shadow, my hand stretching out.

"I wanted to meet you..." I say. A soft laugh escapes her lips and once again, I see her green eyes, deeper then the Lifestream.

"_Why did you come? You're not ready yet."_ Her voice echoed in the breeze, the wind taking her away with it.

I stare at the empty space, my hand still stretched out, waiting for her to hold it.

She doesn't return.

I sit among the flowers and ponder to myself. Why did I come here? Who is this woman that I keep waking up to?

I gaze at my hand as another crosses my mind.

Who am I?

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Cloud?"

Vincent turned to the source of the voice and a middle-aged woman came into his view. Silvery strands stood out in her raven hair like stars in a night sky. She had the kindest wide eyes he had ever come to know, with a hint of gentleness and hidden beauty. Behind her was her red-haired husband.

Vincent nodded in acknowledgement.

"Mom!" Zack ran into the arms of the woman, burying his face in the crook of her shoulder.

"Tifa..." Vincent began. He turned to the red-haired man with arc like tattoos across his cheekbones.

"Yo..." Reno greeted them with a sad smile. Zack's eyes flashed with certain hostility upon facing the older man. He undulated to a corner suddenly, away from the married couple. Tifa's eyes searched the room. Her mouth trembled at the site of Cloud, whose eyes were wide open.

"T-Tifa...Tifa..." he mumbled.

Zack let out an audible gasp. Vincent stood up from his chair.

"He spoke...That's the first time he did," the man whispered audibly, "Since we brought him here."

Tifa placed a palm over her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears and her cheeks wet. She ran over to Cloud's bedside and clasped a small hand over his calloused one, running her other hand through his greying locks.

"Tifa..." Cloud whispered again, his gaze never leaving her face.

"I'm here now, Cloud. I'm here," Tifa swallowed, smiling gently as a mother would to a prodigal child. Reno grinned and gestured Zack and Vincent outside, closing the door behind them. Zack stared at the Turk, silently thanking him.

Vincent gazed back through the small glass panel on the door at Tifa and Cloud.

Despite all of their years spent living apart, there was a bond of love that never died between them.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"_Hello?"_

Cloud squinted through his eyelids as wave of burning agony swept through his aching body. The familiar scent of lavender and jojoba filled the room.

Glancing around, he saw a dark- haired woman asleep on a chair beside his bed. She seemed beautiful, her skin naturally succumbing to time's bargain. Her hand was resting over his. Slowly, he removed her hand away and sat up. The room was empty; the only light was from the bright moon, its luminous rays seeping through the window and creating dancing shadows of stars on the walls.

"_I never blamed you."_

Startled, Cloud sat upright. It was the voice again, the one that comforted him in his nightmares. The source, he guessed, came from outside. Staggering out of bed, he twisted the door knob, making sure not to wake the woman from her peaceful dreams.

He scrambled down the corridors of the building, hiding from the people dressed in white coats. The flowery scent led him outside in the winter wonderland.

Snowflakes drifted down to a pure white blanket like diamonds from the sky. It seemed to Cloud that the whole world was sprayed with diamond dust; iridescent gems clinging underneath the bare branches of the trees. His breath fogged in the air, his feet numbed on contact with the thick sea of snow. Shivering, he followed the sound of tinkling laughter into the wilderness.

"Where are you?" he whispered, teeth chattering from the cold. Sparse vegetation surrounded him. The few plants that had been spared by the snow wore a thick coat of ice that hissed gently in the night.

Cloud coughed as his throat tightened painfully.

His feet were now blue with no feeling left and he felt his blood thicken behind his veins. The voice had led him to the church.

Cloud stumbled upon the wooden platform, coughing again with more vehemence. He glanced up at the rainbow-like, celestial lights that gave way from stained glass of the broken church. The bitter taste of iron filled his mouth. A sudden sharp pang struck at the left side of his chest. Breathless, he felt himself rising and in the blink of an eye, he was standing away from a dying man.

He watched in pity as the man struggled for breath before lying limp on the cold floor, the snow was splotched with drops of crimson. Then he was falling, falling deeper into darkness but he wasn't afraid because there at the end of the chasm, was a person whom he loved so dearly and she caught him with open arms.

And he gazed into eyes that shone like the lovely green waves that washed over them. The river was singing with many voices, some doleful while others were joyful. On instinct, he pulled the girl into a tight embrace; his eyes brimming with tears.

And he continued to embrace her until breathing became silence, until I became We, until tears mingled with the river, reality faded into slumber and existence disappeared into the depths of infinity.

_We all were sea-swallow'd, though some cast again:  
>And, by that destiny, to perform an act,<br>Whereof what's past is prologue, what to come  
>In yours and my discharge.<em>

_Antonio, from 'The Tempest' by William Shakespeare_

**A/N: Many thanks to Pied Flycatcher for Beta Reading this. Please search her up on Author's search and read her stories, she is an amazing writer and an amazing Beta Reader. Thank you, reader, for reading this. I appreciate reviews, alerts and favourites.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, only the plot.**


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